Maxwell, William (1908-2000) | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Name: Maxwell, William (1908-2000)

Historical Note: Born Aug. 16, 1908, lived his early years in Lincoln, Ill. When Maxwell was 10, his mother died of the flu. His father remarried, sold the house and moved the family to Chicago. The author relived those events repeatedly in his books. His first novel, "Bright Center of Heaven," was published in 1934. He also wrote the story collections "Billie Dyer" and "Over by the River," and the 1980 novel, "So Long, See You Tomorrow," which won the American Book Award. Hired in 1937 by The New Yorker's Katharine White, Maxwell was on staff for 40 years and worked with some of the magazine's most celebrated authors, including J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, John O'Hara, John Updike and Harold Brodkey. Married Emily Gilman Noyes in 1945, who died July 23, 2000. They had two daughters, Katharine and Emily. Maxwell died July 31, 2000, at age 91.